Coffee bean hopper

ABSTRACT

A coffee bean hopper having a bottom funnel terminating in a discharge duct; a top wall; at least one top fill opening; a lateral wall having at least one transparent portion and connecting the top wall to the funnel; and an inner partition extending from the top wall towards the funnel and dividing an inner chamber of the hopper into a first and second half-chamber communicating through a passage between the partition and the funnel; the first half-chamber being bounded laterally by the partition and by part of the lateral wall containing the transparent portion; and the second half-chamber communicating with the discharge duct.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Italian Application No. TO2011A000618 filed on 14 Jul. 2011, the contents of which are incorporated herein, in their entirety, by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relates to a coffee bean hopper.

BACKGROUND

Coffee-making or vending machines are known to be fitted, inside, partly inside, or outside the casing, with a coffee bean hopper of the type comprising a bottom funnel terminating in a discharge duct; a top wall; at least one top fill opening; and a lateral wall connecting the top wall to the funnel and comprising at least one transparent portion.

In known coffee bean hoppers, the transparent portion of the lateral wall is used to provide to the outside, at any time, a visible signal of the coffee bean level inside the hopper, but in many cases such signal proves ineffective since such a signal indicates a zero level when in actual fact a relatively large quantity, not visible from the outside, still remains inside the funnel.

Much more useful would be a perfected hopper of the type described, designed to provide a ‘reserve’ level indication, i.e. to allow service technicians and users to see from the outside when and by how much the coffee bean level inside the hopper has dropped below a given (reserve) level.

SUMMARY

It is an object of one or more embodiments the present invention to provide a hopper designed to indicate such a ‘reserve’ level.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a coffee bean hopper. The coffee bean hopper includes a bottom funnel terminating in a discharge duct, a top wall, at least one top fill opening, a lateral wall connecting the top wall to the bottom funnel and comprising at least one transparent portion, and an inner partition. The inner partition extends from the top wall towards the bottom funnel and divides an inner chamber of the coffee bean hopper into a first and second half-chamber communicating through a passage between the partition and the bottom funnel. The first half-chamber is bounded laterally by the partition and by part of the lateral wall containing the transparent portion. The second half-chamber communicates with the discharge duct, and the first half-chamber communicates with the discharge duct solely via the passage and the second half-chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A non-limiting embodiment of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :

FIG. 1 shows a view in perspective of a preferred embodiment of the coffee bean hopper according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2 to 4 show sections of the FIG. 1 hopper in respective discharge conditions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Number 1 in the attached drawings indicates as a whole a hopper for dispensing coffee beans 2, and which comprises a bottom funnel 3 with a stand 4 and terminating in a discharge duct 5 inside stand 4; a top wall 6; and a vertical lateral wall 7 connecting top wall 6 to funnel 3.

In the example shown, funnel 3, viewed from above, is substantially rectangular, and is defined by two sloping walls 8 and 9 converging towards, and connected to the inlet of, discharge duct 5.

Sloping wall 8 is shorter than sloping wall 9, and slopes, with respect to the horizontal, at a constant angle approximately equal to but no smaller than the ‘coffee bean static friction angle’ (normally about 22-25°), which here and hereinafter is intended to mean the half-angle at the vertex that a conical mass of coffee beans must not exceed for it to remain stable.

Sloping wall 9 on the other hand slopes at a non-constant angle, and is divided into a first portion 10 connected to discharge duct 5 and sloping at substantially the same angle as sloping wall 8; and a second portion 11 sloping at less than the coffee bean static friction angle.

Lateral wall 7 comprises two opposite flat longitudinal walls 12 on opposite sides of funnel 3; a flat transverse wall 13 extending upwards from the free top end of sloping wall 8; and a flat transverse wall 14 extending upwards from the free top end of sloping wall 9.

In the example embodiment shown, lateral wall 7 is made entirely of transparent material. This, however, is not strictly necessary, in that only transverse wall 14 or a strip of or adjacent to it need be transparent. In the following description, it is assumed only transverse wall 14 is transparent.

Funnel 3, lateral wall 7, and top wall 6 define an inner chamber 15 divided into two half-chambers 16 and 17 by a vertical partition 18, a bottom portion 19 of which projects inside chamber 15 from top wall 6 and parallel to transverse wall 14. Portion 19 of partition 18 is laterally integral with longitudinal walls 12, and has a free bottom edge 20 facing and parallel to an intermediate portion of portion 11 of sloping wall 9, so as to define, with portion 11 and between longitudinal walls 12, a substantially rectangular passage 21, which is shorter in height than bottom portion 19 of partition 18, and connects half-chamber 16, adjacent to transverse wall 14, to half-chamber 17 communicating with discharge duct 5.

Partition 18 divides top wall 6 into two portions: one defined by a lid 22 closing a fill opening 23 for filling half-chamber 16, and the other defined by two lids 24 closing a fill opening 25 for filling half-chamber 17.

Partition 18, transverse wall 14, and the part of each longitudinal wall 12 bounding half-chamber 16 project upwards above the level of lids 24 to form a turret 26 with opening 23 at the top and closed at the top by lid 22.

A variation not shown has no turret 26, and lid 22 is coplanar with lids 24.

In actual use, chamber 15 (FIG. 2) is first filled with coffee beans 2 through openings 23 and 25 or opening 23 only.

Because half-chamber 17 is connected directly to discharge duct 5, withdrawal of part of the coffee beans 2 through discharge duct 5 forms inside half-chamber 17 (FIG. 3) a funnel-shaped void 27 with a downward-facing vertex and bounded by surfaces 28 sloping at an angle steeper than the bean static friction angle. So, as withdrawal continues, the beans 2 along surfaces 28 roll down to compensate for those drawn through discharge duct 5, while the beans 2 in half-chamber 16 are substantially unaffected.

This is due to the presence of portion 19 of partition 18, which prevents surfaces 28 from extending inside half-chamber 16. In addition, the mass of beans 2 at passage 21, not being affected directly by withdrawal through the discharge duct, and only being indirectly affected by the reduction in lateral thrust caused by the reduction in the mass of beans 2 inside half-chamber 17, tends to shift slightly and, as invariably happens, reorganize in a particulate mass into a minimum-potential-energy, i.e. substantially stable, bridge-like, configuration. In doing this, the mass of beans 2 at passage 21 is assisted by the low height of passage 21, and by portion 11 of sloping wall 9 sloping by less than the bean static friction angle, so that the beans 2 contacting portion 11 tend to remain stationary and form the groundwork of a bridge structure.

Only when surfaces 28 fall below the free edge 20 of portion 19 of partition 18, when half-chamber 17 is substantially empty (FIG. 4), does the mass of beans in half-chamber 16 begin to participate in withdrawal through discharge duct 5, and even then only discontinuously, i.e. as each quantity of beans 2 flows through passage 21, it immediately raises the level of surfaces 28 and restores the balanced condition described at passage 21.

Portion 19 of partition 18 is the only essential element for ensuring the level of beans 2 inside half-chamber 16 only starts to drop when half-chamber 17 is substantially empty, and therefore the level of beans 2 inside half-chamber 16 and visible from the outside through transverse wall 14 constitutes a real visible reserve signal.

In connection with the above, it should be pointed out that hopper 1 operates substantially as described regardless of the slope angles of sloping wall 9, and the presence of turret 26, which simply serves an amplifier of the aforementioned visible reserve signal. 

1. A coffee bean hopper, comprising: a bottom funnel terminating in a discharge duct; a top wall; at least one top fill opening; a lateral wall connecting the top wall to the bottom funnel and comprising at least one transparent portion; and an inner partition extending from the top wall towards the bottom funnel and dividing an inner chamber of the coffee bean hopper into a first and second half-chamber communicating through a passage between the partition and the bottom funnel; wherein the first half-chamber is bounded laterally by the partition and by part of the lateral wall containing the transparent portion; wherein the second half-chamber communicates with the discharge duct, and the first half-chamber communicates with the discharge duct solely via the passage and the second half-chamber.
 2. The hopper as claimed in claim 1, wherein the passage, measured substantially parallel to the inner partition, is shorter in height than the inner partition.
 3. The hopper as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom funnel comprises a sloping wall extending under the inner partition and connected at a bottom end thereof to the discharge duct; the sloping wall comprising a first portion extending under the inner partition and sloping at a first angle, and a second portion connected to the discharge duct and sloping at a second angle steeper than the first angle.
 4. The hopper as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first angle is less than a static friction angle of the coffee beans.
 5. The hopper as claimed in claim 3, wherein the inner partition has a free bottom edge substantially parallel to the sloping wall.
 6. The hopper as claimed in claim 5, wherein the passage is rectangular, and is bounded at a top thereof by a free bottom edge of the partition and at a bottom thereof by the sloping wall.
 7. The hopper as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a turret extending upwards from the top wall, and the inner volume of which forms part of the first half-chamber; the transparent portion extending upwards above the top wall to define a lateral portion of the turret.
 8. The hopper as claimed in claim 7, wherein the inner partition is a bottom portion of a wall, an upper portion of which extends upwards above the top wall to define a lateral portion of the turret.
 9. The hopper as claimed in claim 7, wherein the turret has a fill opening at the top. 